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Is OBIEE 12.2.1.3.0 stable?
My client uses PayChex FLEX to run their payroll. FLEX uses OBIEE to provide “Custom Analytics & Reports” to their customers. I’ve been developing BI Analysis reports to “Export to Excel” and then import the payroll information to an Excel/VBA application.
The BI release on PayChex FLEX was upgraded just a week ago from 11.1.1.7.140715 to 12.2.1.3.0 and everything has gone to hell. I can run and export an existing analysis (when it's up at all), but I can’t hardly make but a couple of changes in the editor before I get some Server Errors, #500 pretty much. My development capability has gone to zero.
Is the 12.2.1.3.0 release super unstable? (I’d find that hard to believe). Or is it probable that they just don’t know how to configure their software? I saw on the ‘net that there’s been a patch since then, is it critical?
Thanks,
Mike
Answers
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Hi Mike,
Shortest possible answer: No it isn't super unstable but you probably simply have a really messed up implementation.
9 / 10 it's that.
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As Christian said: 12.2.1.3 is not unstable, it's quite good when used correctly.
If you get HTTP 500 when editing analysis etc. it definitely smell like configuration and implementation issues, crashing components again etc.
Of course if they did a jump from 11.1.1.7 to 12.2.1.3 (there are 5 years in between) without really managing it well there were little chances for it to work.
So it isn't you managing OBIEE but the "FLEX" guys? Or you have access to the system to manage it?
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+1 !
If it's a handmade solution with tons of JavaScript slapped together and just dumped onto the new version then my initial statment will kick in: bad implementation. Wont work.
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Hi Christian,
Thanks for the response. I was certain it was their implementation and not the BI update per se; though I’ll admit to raising an eyebrow at a release number that ends with a zero.
This project is the first I’ve ever come across Oracle BI. It was only from error messages in Paychex FLEX’s custom report module that I even found out what the underlying software was.
Mike
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12.2.1.3.0 is actually the fourth "12c" of Oracle BI: 12.2.1.0.0, 12.2.1.1.0, 12.2.1.2.0 and 12.2.1.3.0
That last .0 is then incremented by the patch numbers.
So basically what you would then need (in your situation) is a review of just what they have done and how they have done it. The how being pretty much more important than the what.
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Hi Gianni,
Thanks for your response. Indeed, the smell is strong and unpleasant. Unfortunately, I have yet to garner any assistance on a technical issue from PayChex that I would grade as even moderately competent. So getting through this is going to be a painful experience.
Over the past week I had problems each time I used the FLEX BI system. It’s been inaccessible numerous times. It went down yesterday and it’s still down now. How they could be a leading service provider for outsourcing payroll completely eludes me.
Mike
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Mike Wentz wrote:How they could be a leading service provider for outsourcing payroll completely eludes me.
Let say that once again is the miracles of marketing and a good sales guy versus a not too challenging buyer
Try to push a bit on them telling them it's unacceptable and ask them to sign a SLA with a 99.999% availability. In general money penalties motivate even the worse service providers to react ...
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Christian,
Thanks, I was just wondering if the January patch was essential.
Regarding the new release, when it is working, we have found some changes that I’d like to find out if they’re a known BI issue or yet more implementation grief. Specifically:
- All numeric measures, when exported to Excel, are now text values in ‘General’ formatted cells. Until the upgrade they were numeric values in ‘Number’ formatted cells. Yes, I know the formatting is not in fact the problem, but the actual type of cell contents is. – The Excel function ISNUMBER() now returns FALSE on these cells. Needless to say, this has completely blown things up for any non-technical client/user of a PayChex report.
- High-order characters such as “◊” are replaced with question marks when exported to PDF. They display in the editor fine, and export to Excel OK, just not a PDF. They previously exported to PDF correctly.
- Export to PDF now produces reports that begin with a blank page when printed double-sided. I think this is an odd-even first page designation change, but I’ve found no user available control for that feature.
Is this the correct forum to ask usage type questions?
Thanks again,
Mike
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ad 1) That's something you can configure. Either export as-is in the analysis in OBI or not. Can't find the documentation right now, sorry. Surely @Gianni Ceresa will oblige
ad 2) That sounds like an encoding / codepage issue. Also something for which there are N MOS documents with solutions
ad 3) Well with all the "to PDF stuff" it comes down to what is used. BIP or OBI
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On the first point, what I was trying to say was that every existing analysis which exported numeric values to Excel, now, without any changes, exports all numeric quantities as 'Numbers stored as text'.
I even tried editing the analysis to override the default value of the ColumnProperties>DataFormat to explicitly specify 'Number' but to no avail, the exported spreadsheet still has numbers stored as text.
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